How to Make the Perfect Turkey

Thanksgiving is a day to watch football, get together as family, eat great food, and most important of all—eat turkey. It is vital that the turkey is cooked to perfection as this is usually the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal in most homes. I have cooked turkeys for a long time now and have discovered a recipe and method that has drawn many great reviews from family, friends, and others who have partaken of my roasted turkey.

• It is very important to thaw out your turkey in plenty of time before the big Thanksgiving Day. It is best to thaw out the turkey in the fridge or in a bath tub full of cold water. Make sure and change the water every few hours when using the bath method. If the turkey is not thawed sufficiently then it will make for uneven cooking making the outside over-cooked and the insides under-cooked.
• Once you have thawed the turkey out and have removed the insides, rinse it off and pat with paper towels.
• When the turkey is dried off, rub the whole body with real butter with your hands. Use a generous amount and make sure it is completely coated on the skin. Once the bird is covered in butter, you are ready to add the seasonings.
• Use Grill Mates dry rub for the seasonings on the turkey. You can find this in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. There are different flavors of seasonings (my favorite is Montreal steak). Choose whatever flavor you would like and rub it onto the skin and into the butter. Make sure and use generous amounts to cover the turkey completely and rub into the skin as much as possible.
• Once the turkey is covered in butter and seasonings, put into an oven bag which helps to keep the moisture and heat in the turkey and cooks it faster and better. The directions will be in the oven bag box.
• Put the turkey in the oven and cook for the amount of time listed on the oven bag instructions. Make sure and put several small holes on the top side of the turkey bag for some of the air to release from the bag.
• Once the turkey has finished cooking, let is sit for about 15 or 20 minutes to let the meat set up and the juices to settle into the meat. This also makes it easier to slice.
• To carve the turkey, it is important to use an electric knife. The electric knife makes for a better cut and is much quicker than with a regular knife. Start with removing the drum sticks and remove extra meat on the sides to make it easy to cut the breast on each side of the turkey.
• Cut the breast slices in large uniform slices with some of the seasoned skin on the edge of each slice if possible.
• Finish carving the turkey and place it on a large platter in a uniform pattern.
• The final touch is to sprinkle some of the grill mates seasoning on all of the slices (not too much, but enough to give it a little more flavor).

Hope you enjoy this recipe. This turkey should draw some great compliments.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to take some time to think of all the things that you are thankful for- including a great roasted turkey.

Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.